Politics
by onlyonechairleft
Summary: Pureblood politics explodes suddenly in Hogwarts and Ron finds himself caught in the middle. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own HP. Thanks, JKR.

I've always been fascinated by Pureblood politics- I think there's a lot more in there than JK has told us. I've also always wondered about why Arthur hates the Malfoy family so much… and so this was written...

* * *

Hermione was taking Arithmancy notes with her usual precision when the conversation behind her drifted to her ears. Usually she did her best to avoid eavesdropping but the class was moving slower than normal, and she found herself bored. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. The two girls behind her, Daphne Greengrass (the blonde, beautiful Slytherin girl who only had to look at Hermione to grate on her nerves) and Lisa Turpin (dark haired and slim, with the most irritating nasal voice in the world, according to Miss Granger.) spent most of their time in the class talking, so Hermione wasn't surprised. What surprised her was the subject matter. 

"Did you hear?" Lisa whispered "Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley are an item- everyone was talking about it at lunch." Hermione tutted to herself- honestly, didn't they have anything better to talk about? Harry and Ginny had been an item for weeks.

"Hmm. I'm not too interested in what Potter's up to myself, he's a boring git. No, in Slytherin house, the talk is all about Weasley these days. Ron, that is, not Ginny." Daphne's hushed voice seemed to be hinting at something important.

"I can't say I'm surprised- that boy is _fine_. What I can't believe is how long it took the Gryffs to notice- he's a Weasley for Merlin's sake!" Her voice rose a little toward the end, and Professor Sinestra shot them an annoyed look. Lisa fell silent, ducking her head to look at her notes.

"That's what happens though, when you have all the Muggle-raised in the same place. They really don't know anything." Together, they laughed softly, darting glances at the Professor to make sure she hadn't noticed. In front of them, Hermione's eyebrows rose- Muggleborns didn't know anything? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Lisa's voice was matter-of-fact when she spoke again, but so low that Hermione had to strain her ears to hear.

"Did you know that it's Lavender who got her claws into him in the end? Apparently, she almost came to blows with Parvati over it. According to Padma, anyway." Okay, that was weird. But it might explain why the two girls hadn't really been speaking to each other recently, Hermione mused. If she'd been looking for clarification though, Daphne didn't help her.

"Oh? Are her parents putting the pressure on?" Greengrass sounded intrigued but Hermione really felt like she was missing something.

"Uh-huh. Padma says that their mother was really upset after the Yule ball disaster in fourth year. She'd been hoping for success with Parvati instead, but Lavender got there first." Daphne made an amused sound in her throat and spoke with conviction.

"No Weasley will ever settle for a Brown- look at the rest of them for Merlin's sake! The eldest, Bill, just got engaged to Fleur Delacour, and everyone knows how picky her people are. And Fred (I think, I could never tell those two apart) is still going out with Angelina Johnson."

"Yeah, that's Fred- George is knocking around with that Spinnet girl. Now, _that's_ an interesting couple. Alicia's mother is said to be looking for wedding robes already- she's really happy because their mother is a Prewett." Lisa rushed her last words, and finally turned back to her classwork. Sinestra might be patient, but even she had her limits and Lisa really didn't like detention.

"Did you hear what happened between Percy and that Muggleborn Clearwater? She was Head girl when he was Head boy? Mandy told me that she was itching for a ring and he kicked her from the cauldron faster than a Firebolt flies." They paused to laugh, and Daphne continued with amusement evident in her tone "No Weasley will ever marry a Muggleborn- mark my words. They may be poor, but they're not stupid."

Hermione, who had been sitting still in her seat, tensed even further. What the hell was that supposed to mean? The Weasley's didn't care about blood! Fleur was part-veela for crying out loud!

A traitorous little voice in her head reminded her that Mrs. Weasley really disliked Fleur.

"People call them blood-traitors though, don't they? I've heard Malfoy say it lots of times." Lisa's voice was even quieter now, and Hermione considered casting a spell to help her hear. Fortunately for her, Daphne spoke louder.

"Malfoy is only repeating what he heard at home- trust me, if his father had received a yes, Draco and Ron would be the best of friends and Arthur Weasley would be minister for magic. Everyone knows that if it weren't for what happened with Ginny- if that had gone that other way- the Malfoys wouldn't be nearly as disdainful."

Hermione left the class a few moments later, her mind spinning. She hadn't understood half of what she'd heard. She really didn't understand this sudden interest in Ron.

Honestly, Daphne Greengrass had as much as admitted her admiration- where in the world had that come from? And what was that about no Weasley ever marrying a Muggleborn? How had they concluded that, exactly?

* * *

She went through the rest of her classes in a distracted haze, rolling their words over in her mind again and again- so much so that by the time she returned to Gryffindor tower, she was furious. How dare those two talk about Ron and his family like that? She certainly didn't understand it all, but she knew it wasn't all good. And as for where Ginny fit into it, the only time Hermione could remember Ginny having anything to do with the Malfoys was back in second year with Riddle's diary and that couldn't be it because Ron has always hated Malfoy. Hermione stalked into the common room and threw herself into a squishy chair in front of the fire. Ron, Harry and Ginny were already sitting there- Ginny on Harry's lap, and Ron wearing a faint look of disgust from his own seat opposite her. She gave her greetings all around, and Ron grinned at her in return. 

"Thank Merlin you're here 'Mione- these two are making me ill." She smiled a little; sitting back into her chair and letting herself relax. She really, really wanted to know what Greengrass and Turpin had meant but she wasn't really sure she should ask. Ron might not even know. Her friends were talking around her for a few minutes before she finally plucked up the courage to just _ask. _If Ron and Ginny didn't know, who would? The girls had been talking about them, after all. She waited for a lull in conversation- conveniently when Harry and Ginny paused to gaze into one another's eyes- before sitting forward, almost on the edge of her seat and gesturing to Ron to come closer.

"Can I ask you a question Ron?" A momentary confusion crossed his face and he laughed, catching Harry and Ginny's attention, and nodded.

"I can't think what you could possibly need my help for, apart from Quidditch maybe, but sure. Ask away." He grinned at her, flopping back into his chair again.

"Well… it's nothing really. It's just… I was in my Arithmancy class today and some people were talking about your family…" She noticed the tension appear in his shoulders almost immediately. Cursing herself for her poor choice of words, she continued. "… and they were saying some things that I didn't understand…" She let her voice trail off to gauge his reaction before continuing. He was certainly tense, and Hermione couldn't help but think that she could have gone about this slightly better. He made a grunting sound and sat forward on the edge of his seat. After a few moments of silence, he gestured for her to continue. Relieved, Hermione took a deep breath and grinned. At least he wasn't mad at her. Yet.

"Well, they were talking about your brothers- about Bill's engagement and who the twins are going out with. And then someone said that no Weasley will ever marry a Muggleborn because you may be poor but you're not stupid." Maybe she should have left out the poor bit completely. "And I'm not really sure what that means- why do people think that? I mean, they were talking about Percy dumping Penny because she's a Muggleborn but that isn't true, is it?" Ron laughed a little as she finished.

"That's rubbish Hermione- Purebloods who can't imagine marrying a Muggleborn" He laughed again, shaking his head "Some people in this school really have nothing better to do with their time." Still laughing, he glanced at his sister and raised an eyebrow at her- she was quiet, brow furrowed in concentration. "What's the matter Gin?"

"I'm just trying to remember why Percy and Penny did break up. I know they were still going out when they left school, and when he went to work at the Ministry, but I can't remember when they broke up, that's all." She grimaced. "So that bit could be true, actually. We don't know."

It was Ron, surprisingly, who came to Percy's defence.

"Perce wouldn't do that and you know it Gin- just because he's got some priorities mixed up doesn't mean that he's thrown everything that mum and dad believe out the window." It was maybe the nicest thing he'd said about Percy in a year and a half. Ginny reddened and she muttered an apology and said she hadn't really meant it.

"Was that it, then? Nothing more interesting than the usual nonsense?" He wasn't even looking at her as he asked the question, instead, concentrating on examining his new Chocolate Frog card- Dumbledore, again. The line about Nicolas Flamel still taunted him, five years on.

She took her time with the next bit, wallowing in the relief she felt at Ron's answer and not really sure that she wanted to examine the reason for her relief. When she did answer, her tone was offhand, and she wasn't even particularly interested in the explanation.

"There was one other thing- they were talking about the feud between your dad and Lucius Malfoy; about the reason it started. Something about Malfoy not getting the answer he wanted- they seemed to believe that you and Draco would be the best of friends" Here, Harry laughed at the very thought, almost choking himself "…and your dad would be Minister if it had all gone differently." The end of her sentence was punctuated by her dropping a heavy book onto the table in front of her. She didn't notice that Ron had paled, nor the look he exchanged with his sister.

"Did they say anything else about it?" He kept his voice light, but if she had so much as glanced at him, she would have seen the tension on his face and an odd light in his eyes.

She didn't look at him- instead, her eyes were on the page in front of her.

"Oh, one of them said something about Ginny. I think I was missing something there because the only time I know of that Ginny had anything to do with the Malfoy's was in second year. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that they didn't know what they were talking about." She giggled a little "I really should stop listening to idle gossip, anyway."

"Who was it you were listening to Hermione?" She looked up then, at Ginny's voice. The only Weasley girl had leapt from Harry's lap at the mention of her own name, and was standing at her brother's side now. Hermione's eyes widened at the look on Ginny's face- she looked furious.

"Uh… I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it Ginny. It was just some harmless gossip."

"Answer the question Hermione. Who was it?" Ron sounded as furious as Ginny looked, his fists clenched on the arms of his chair, and his face pale. Hermione shot a startled glance at Harry but he looked as bewildered as she was. Neville (when had he arrived?), standing behind Harry, was ashen faced. He looked ill.

"What's the matter Ron? Have I said something wrong?" She tried to keep her voice neutral, but couldn't help the tiniest amount of fear from creeping into her words.

"Not _you_, Hermione. Now who was it?" And for the first time, Hermione saw Ron the way the rest of the school did- a tall, strong, powerful wizard who was more than a match for anything that came his way.

Quietly, afraid to _not_ answer, she answered.

"Daphne Greengrass and Lisa Turpin." At her words, he stood suddenly, marching away across the common room. "I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it, Ron!" She turned back to Harry, away from Ron's retreating figure, "What's going on? What did I say?" Her question was more addressed to Ginny than Harry in the end, as Harry was just staring at her blankly.

"It's nothing you said Hermione, it's something else entirely." Hermione gaped- that _was not _an answer, in her opinion. Harry seemed to agree, and he asked his own question, standing beside his girlfriend in an effort to catch her eye. Ginny, however, wasn't interested in answering any more questions. She was watching her brother speak quietly to a seventh year girl across the common room, with a strange expression on her face, pale beneath her freckles. The girl Ron was talking to (Samantha something, Hermione remembered) suddenly looked outraged, nodded vigorously and grabbed her wand. Ron seemed to thank her, and quickly made his way back to his friends. Or to his sister, actually.

"Ginny, stay here. I'll take care of this, alright?" She nodded, sinking into the chair he'd occupied previously. "Neville, will you stay with her?" The round-faced boy nodded, moving toward Ginny in a protective way and causing Harry to take a step backward.

"Thanks mate."

Hermione, watching this, couldn't have understood less of what was happening if Ron had been speaking another language.

* * *

"Wait, Ron! Where are you going? What's happening?" But her friend disappeared into the crowd of Gryffindors, followed closely by Sam, for whatever reason. As one, Hermione and Harry turned to Neville for answers, demanding them loudly enough that the rest of the students heard what was happening. 

"Um, well, you see…" Neville reddened, dark enough to do justice to any Weasley, and looked at Ginny "Can I, Gin?" She nodded yes, pulling her legs up onto the armchair and wrapping her arms around them, her face hidden by a curtain of red hair.

"It's a Pureblood thing, I suppose." He coughed, clearing his throat, and glanced around desperately for someone else who could explain. But all he saw were the Muggleborns and the Muggleraised, and that left him. "See… there's a tradition among the old Pureblood families to strengthen their bonds through, uh, nuptials…" he caught the look of confusion on Harry's face and clarified quickly, "… marriage, that is." The confusion quickly changed to apprehension for the Boy-Who-Lived. "And, um, when Ginny was born she got a lot of interest, for lack of a better term, because she's the first Weasley girl in generations- five or six at least."

Ginny nodded again, and croaked a hoarse "Six" from behind her hair.

"Apparently, Malfoy made an offer too but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley refused them all, and Mr. Malfoy was really angry because he really wanted Ginny to marry Draco- Grams said that's because the Malfoy line is dying out and the Weasley's are notoriously, uh, fertile." If possible, Neville blushed even darker at that. He stopped talking then, happy that he'd explained the situation. Hermione wasn't so sure.

"Why has Ron gone tearing out of here then? What has he gone to do?" Harry looked a little startled at her words, as if realising for the first time that Ron was gone.

"He's gone because, after a witches' parents have refused all offers and declared the witch free to choose herself, no-one is supposed to mention any of this. At all. It's a complete taboo. I'm only allowed to explain because I have Ginny's permission, and I still feel ill."

"So, he's gone to confront them?" Seamus Finnegan, next to Dean, sounded sceptical.

"Two on one? And one of them is a Slytherin?" A murmur of laughter travelled through the assembled Gryffindors, everyone speculating about just how badly thrashed Ron was going to be.

"He's not gone to _confront_ them, Finnegan. He's gone to defend my family's honour and _my_ honour." Ginny was practically spitting out her words. "This is the worst possible insult that they could level at me- insulting me on every possible level. Even the mere mention of it implies that I'm some kind of… some kind of… s_lapper_- but more than that, one that gets paid for the privilege! The fact that they spoke about it in the same conversation as my father's feud with the Malfoy's only makes it worse." She paused, leaping to her feet and almost growling in her throat. "I'd say you lot are missing quite the show- Ron isn't gone to _confront _anyone- he's gone to annihilate them."

The venom in her voice would only have been surprising to anyone who didn't know her as well as Harry and Hermione, but even they were a little taken aback. Ginny could be vicious, they knew, but this was a whole other level of angry that they had never seen before.

"We should go and stop him before he gets himself expelled." Hermione said grimly. Neville laughed.

"He won't get expelled for this Hermione- it's his right as a representative of the family to demand retribution. It's the law." Hermione blinked.

"It's the law? Something this ridiculous is in the law?" Around her, several people muttered their agreement but Neville looked aghast at her words and Ginny spun to face Hermione.

"You know Granger, I really don't expect you to understand seeing as you're Muggleborn and all, but please don't trivialise something that you don't understand. I'm far too angry to be reasonable, and you should count yourself lucky that all the Purebloods and the Wizard raised are already gone to the great hall." Ginny's words were a threat and her voice promised violence- Hermione reddened and took a step back from her friend, muttering apologies.

"Do you mind if we go, Gin? We should be there…" Harry's voice trailed off as she grinned, wolf-like.

"Oh yes, go. I want to hear all about it later." Grabbing Hermione by the arm, Harry dragged her off through the milling students (all, for some reason, suddenly very interested in visiting the great hall) and out of the portrait hole. Taking the Marauder's Map from his pocked, he quickly located the dot labelled _Ron Weasley,_ a dot accompanied by _Samantha Tucker_ and followed closely by two dots for Greengrass and Turpin. So closely, in fact, that Harry thought the two girls might have been bound with magic.

"If we hurry, we'll be in the hall before him- he's just leaving the Dungeons now." He set off at a sprint, Hermione rushing to catch up to him.

A few short (and, at the same time, very long) minutes later, they reached the entrance hall, gasping and out of breath. There was a crowd, quite a large crowd, milling around the doors to the great hall, waiting for something. Harry and Hermione fell in next to Lavender and Parvati, and the Ravenclaw girls they were with. Hermione, remembering what the gossipers had said about the Patil twins, kept her mouth tightly shut and let Harry do the talking.

"What's Ron going to do then? Is there a procedure for this kind of thing?" Parvati giggled- a sound that grated on Hermione's nerves even more now that she knew the girl was thinking about Ron in the same way that Lavender was.

"Yes Harry, there is. He's obviously gone to gather the accused- that's his responsibility as the maker of the claim. He even remembered to bring an intermediary- I'm shocked he remembered really, because the old ways are dying out, you know?" She was about to launch into a lecture about the old ways and their importance to cultural memory when Harry interrupted and asked what an intermediary was. Sniffing a little, Parvati answered in a tone that indicated she thought Harry was an idiot.

"His intermediary- Sam Tucker from seventh year in this case- is there to protect whoever it is the claim is brought against. She'll do the formal, ceremonial bits. I have to say, Ron made a very good choice when he picked her- her whole family are in the legal profession. Her mother serves in the Wizengamot, and her father is an investigator for the MLE. Very old Pureblood family, too. That's how she knows all these things, I suppose." She was about to say more when a ripple of excitement ran through the crowd. Lavender, uncomfortably close to Hermione, squealed loudly.

"They're coming! They're coming!" And then she saw him, standing a good head taller than most of the other students and walking beside his intermediary. Behind them, the two girls from her Arithmancy class followed, heads bowed and faces showing only humiliation. Hermione felt a pang of guilt- this was all her fault. She really shouldn't have been listening in and she certainly shouldn't have told anyone. If Ron got hurt it would be all her fault.

* * *

As Ron strode forward toward the great hall, the massive doors swung open ahead of him. Entering, he headed for the middle of the empty hall. The tables had already been banished- by who he didn't know and nor did he particularly care- and the drapes that usually covered the walls depicting the house crests were gone. He stopped in the centre of the hall, Sam next to him. He avoided looking at the two girls in front of him, choosing to watch the rest of the students file into the hall instead. It was only when an angry voice began shouting from somewhere outside the doors that he was brought back to reality with a bang. The teachers were here. McGonagall sounded _very_ angry. 

Hermione and Harry found themselves pushed to the other side of the hall, to where the Gryffindor table should have been but wasn't. Hermione was having trouble sorting out one house from the other and she couldn't understand why for a few moments until she realised that none of the other students were wearing their house colours, choosing instead to bear what appeared to be their family crests where their house crest usually stood. She saw students she knew from every house there, mostly purebloods but half-blood's and Muggleborns too. Even the Muggleborns had removed their house colours, she noticed, and she hastened to do the same to her own robes, and Harry's. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling it would prove important. Interestingly, Harry's vanished crest immediately reformed into the Potter family crest and he smiled sadly at the sight of it. Her own crest remained vanished, a point that hit her hard as it really served to exemplify the difference between Muggleborns and not. Tearing her eyes away from where the Gryffindor lion should have been displayed, she heard the faint sound of angry shouting from outside the door. Relief rushed through her body as she realised that McGonagall had arrived- and Dumbledore too, by the sound of it. She grinned happily at Harry, mouthing "McGonagall will stop this" in his direction. He grinned back, but his faltered a little. He wasn't as sure that it could be stopped.

Minerva McGonagall pushed her way through the students in front of her, cursing under her breath because she couldn't figure out who was from which house and therefore couldn't take points away, heading toward the students in the centre of this… gathering. When she finally entered the 'inner circle' she was surprised to find two of her own students standing there, defiant looks firmly in place. Maybe she shouldn't have been surprised at all, she reflected, given that one of those students also happened to be a Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley, Ms. Tucker, what exactly is the meaning of this? What, in the name of Merlin, are you doing?" She realised the only possible answer two second after she'd spoken and almost blushed. _Almost _being the key word because Minerva hadn't blushed since she'd been in school herself.

"They have broken a silence, Professor. Under the law and by his rights as a Weasley, Ron has come to demand retribution." McGonagall sighed, and nodded.

"I understand. I trust there is suitable evidence to support your claims?" Ron nodded then, tightly and with tension written across his features.

"There will be no need of evidence Professor. They have already confessed their guilt." She was momentarily taken aback by the anger in his voice but quickly reminded herself that he was a Weasley- of course he would be angry. Sometimes, it seemed to her that a Weasley's (didn't matter which one, really.) natural state was anger.

"Alright then. Proceed, Ms. Tucker." She turned to address the crowd then, meeting the Headmaster's worried eyes briefly too. "The rest of you, please remove your House colours and crests for this- for the next few minutes, you are no longer representing Hogwarts but are instead acting as representatives of the Wizarding community at large. The offending student's actions shall not be reflected on their houses." Mutters ran around the crowd once more and McGonagall disappeared, absorbed by the teeming mass of people.

Ron nodded to Samantha, and she smiled grimly.

"I call all here to witness this, the will of the people. In accordance with law and tradition, these two- Daphne Aurelia Greengrass and Lisa Melinda Turpin- have committed crimes against the house of Weasley and against the person of Ginevra Molly Weasley. House Weasley and Ginevra Weasley shall be represented in this instance by Ronald Bilius Weasley." And she stepped aside, leaving Ron with a clear view of the two girls.

"What say you to the charges as laid before you?" They both blushed, and muttered in unison,

"We are guilty of the charge that has been put upon us, and offer our humblest apologies." Lisa may have even added in an extra 'Sir' at the end, but Ron couldn't be sure.

Sam cut in then, before the girls could say anything else.

"What ask you of them in reparation?"

Silence reigned for several minutes as Ron thought about the question. Custom dictated that he must ponder his reply for a minimum of three and not more than ten minutes, even if he already knew the answer. Privately, he thought the reason was for the humiliation of the accused, and for now he thoroughly approved.

After several minutes of oppressive silence, Turpin began to cry. She sobbed quietly, tears flowing down her face and onto her robes. Like everyone else, her house crest was stitched to her robes for the occasion and as every tear fell she could only imagine what her parents would say- they would be so disappointed. _She _was so disappointed in herself- this was no way for a girl from a good house to act. Suppressing a loud sob, she bit her lip and willed herself not to think about what her fellow Ravenclaws would do to her. McGonagall may have specified that they would not share her punishment but she knew better. They'd never let her forget this, and she'd never live it down.

Daphne, standing beside her, was contemplating Hermione Granger instead. She had underestimated the Muggleborn girl, on several counts. She hadn't expected the Gryffindor princess to eavesdrop, for a start, and if she had expected the eavesdropping she certainly wouldn't have expected the Muggleborn to understand. Having realised that it must have been Granger who'd overheard them, she'd known it was useless to lie and deny it all- even if it hadn't been blatantly obvious that Lisa had already confessed by the time they'd reached the Dungeons. Daphne fought the urge to snort as she considered the girl next to her- Turpin was sobbing like a child, just to further her humiliation. Lisa needed to take a leaf out of Granger's book and grow a spine. Her eyes caught her family crest on her chest and she tried not to smile. Her family wouldn't care, really. Her parents had more important things to worry about than a minor infraction like this. Carefully, she turned her smile to a frown and tried to force a tear. It wasn't happening, but she wasn't too surprised really. She'd never been able to cry on demand, a skill that her mother had perfected as a child.

She forced herself to look up at Weasley as he spoke, internally wondering what the boy would possibly demand. Probably money, she thought. Beside her, Lisa looked up through tear-filled eyes.

"My demands are threefold. Firstly I demand a full written apology to my sister Ginevra for the insult they have given her, to be written independently." _Dammit_, Daphne thought. There went the idea of just signing Lisa's. "Secondly, I demand that the houses of Greengrass and Turpin shall take upon themselves the debt owed to House Weasley, and should House Weasley require aid from any member of those houses in the future, then aid shall be granted without question, until such time as I, or my sister Ginevra, do acknowledge that the debt has been fulfilled. Thirdly, I demand that all members of houses Turpin and Greengrass shall not raise a wand in violence or threat of violence against any member of House Weasley or those that she protects and claims as her own."

A mutter of confusion ran through the assembled crowd, and Daphne cursed internally.

That was a very Slytherin agreement. She'd underestimated Weasley too.

Ron placed his hand on Sam's shoulder to indicate that he was finished and, in turn, she reached out to Daphne and Lisa, placing one hand on each of their shoulders. The magic inherent in the law and tradition of the Wizarding world swirled around the hall, swelling inside of Sam as intermediary, and dashed into the two girls. Tears- real tears- came to Daphne's eyes then as she realised the true extent of her miscalculation. Money wouldn't have been a problem, she knew. But enforced loyalty to another house for every member of her own? She might be in trouble now.

* * *

Hermione and Harry stood, in shock, listening to Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore celebrate Ron's demands. 

"The Greengrass family have been sitting on the fence for far too long, Albus. That boy has just delivered them to us in a nice neat package." She pursed her lips, obviously trying very hard not to smile. "I think it might be time I had a discussion with Mr. Weasley- he's been hiding things from us, Albus."

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"That he has Minerva. That he has. It appears that young Mr. Weasley is far more ruthless than I had expected."

To Harry's ears, he didn't sound altogether happy with the idea, even as McGonagall pushed down a laugh. She whispered something then that Harry didn't hear, and moved away to disperse the crowd. Dumbledore met Harry's eyes then, and nodded in his direction before disappearing himself.

"What do you think that was all about then?" He asked.

"I don't know Harry. I don't know half of what's gone on today, to be honest. I'm not even sure I want to know."


End file.
